Arraignments of defendants "in-custody" (arrested
and held by the police) are conducted every day of
the year in Courtroom D-11 at 9:30 AM. Arraignments of
defendants given Desk Appearance Tickets or Field Appearance
Tickets are conducted regular court days in the scheduled "Street
Arraignment" (SAP) courtrooms.

Your next court date was written on a blue "Notice
to Appear" form at your last court date.

If you know the name of the defendant, or the docket number
of the case, use WebCrims.
This system does not show Bench or Arrest Warrants or
finished cases.

To search by name, you need to know at least the first
three letters of the defendants last name and the first
two letters of the defendants first name. When searching
by "calendar," choose "Criminal Court" for Court field,
use the courtroom number for Court Part field
(for example, D31 or D44), not the Judge Name.

If you think the case is still open, and you cannot find
the next date with WebCrims,
you should call the court at 631 853 7500 to speak to court
staff during normal business hours, or see below regarding vacating warrants.

Unless the Judge has excused your appearance, you are required
to appear at each and every court date. If you do not appear, the judge may issue a warrant for your
immediate arrest.

If an emergency
requires you to miss your upcoming court date, you may
write a letter to the Judge explaining
your situation (send a copy to the District Attorney's Office).
The Judge may consider your note when your case is called,
and may adjourn your case to another day and not issue
a warrant. You might be notified
by mail of the new court date.

You may ask the Judge on your court date to assign a Legal
Aid Society attorney to represent you. Generally, you
are eligible for free Legal representation if you fall
below the US Department of Health & Human
Services Poverty Guidelines.

You may request to voluntarily vacate a warrant by
submitting anApplication to Vacate
District Court Warrant (form
DC-320-A) to the Clerk's Office public information windows
before 11:00 AM any regular business day. A list (the "warrant vacate" calendar) is posted at the 2nd floor waiting area (usually
before noon), and you must
appear in the courtroom indicated to vacate the warrant.

Many innocent persons or their dependents may
suffer disability, incur financial hardships, become
dependent upon public assistance, or suffer personal physical injury or
death as a result of criminal acts. Aid,
care and support is provided by the state for
such victims of crime, through the New York State Crime Victims Board.

The resources available in your community for information relating to domestic violence, treatment of injuries, and places of safety and shelters can be accessed by calling the following toll-free numbers for the New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-942-6906 (in Spanish: 1-800-942-6908).

In District Court, a criminal action must
be filed with the court (which usually means the defendant
was arrested or given an appearance ticket, and the complaints
were filed with the court by the police). A victim or
witness may request an order of protection when the person
is arraigned - the District Attorney in the courtroom
will need to know before the arraignment that you want
an Order of Protection.

If you need an Order of Protection and the person was
issued an appearance ticket (released from the police
and told to appear on a future date for arraignment in
court), get a copy of the police report and complaint
from the officer or the precinct, and inform the police
that you want an Order of Protection. The police will
need to file paperwork with the court before you can get
an Order of Protection from the court.

If you need an Order of Protection and the person was
not arrested or not charged with any crime or offense,
call the police to file a complaint. If you are related
to or live with the person, you might be a victim of Domestic
Violence.

If you are the defendant (the enjoined
party on an Order of Protection),
and your case is still pending, and you want to change the conditions of an Order of Protection,
you must consult with your attorney.

If the defendant was convicted, pled guilty, or otherwise has an order of protection and no future court date, and you want to modify the terms of the order of protection, you may submit a written request to the court - appear at window #2 in room D220 in the Cohalan Court Complex during normal business hours. Based on your written request, the case will be restored to the calendar for a future date, when the judge will decide if the Order of Protection should be modified.

Once the court case is disposed (when the case is dismissed,
or the defendant is convicted and sentenced), and the defendant
made all court appearances as directed, bail is exonerated
and returned to the person who posted the bail, minus a
3% fee. The process generally takes eight weeks after the
case is disposed and the money is returned. Bail money is returned from the Suffolk County Treasurer.

If the defendant did not appear in court as directed, and
a warrant was issued, bail was forfeited. You might be able
to get the bail money back if the Court orders the bail
remitted after a CPL540.30 motion.

by mail
by timely mailing a check or money order payable to
the Clerk of the District Court. If your check is not
honored by the bank, there will be an additional $20
fee and the immediate entry of a default judgment.

in person at the courthouse on or before
the "to
pay" date at window 5, 6, or 7 in room D220 (on the second floor)
by cash, check, or credit card (Visa or MasterCard - with
photo identification).

Generally, if you do not pay the fine or fee, the Court (on behalf
of the People of the State of New York) enters a judgment
against you in the County Clerk's office and suspends your
drivers license.

The court may also issue a warrant for your
arrest.

If you do not pay a fine imposed
by the court, within the time ordered, you may be imprisoned.

If you are unable to
pay a fine, you may ask the
court, to be resentenced.

The Court may not
waive certain surcharges or fees.
You may tell the court that payment of the surcharges
or fees will be an unreasonable hardship on you or your
immediate family, and the court may defer payment and
enter a civil judgment.

You may be imprisoned for up to fifteen days for your failure to
pay certain surcharges and fees.

If you do not pay what you owe, or if you do not appear in court to
request more time to pay, a civil judgment against you
will be entered and docketed with the Suffolk County
Clerk (or the Clerk of the County in which you reside),
and your drivers license may be suspended, and a
warrant may be issued for your arrest.

You might need a Certificate of Disposition or a Certified
Transcript.
You can buy one from the court by coming to the courthouse
- bring photo identification, $5, and as much information
about the case you can get (case or docket number, date
of disposition, offenses charged, date of arrest, copies
of charges, etc).

You may also request a Certificate of Disposition or a Certified
Transcript by mail - follow the instructions on form DC-411.

If the case was sealed, you may need additional paperwork, for example,

if you were adjudicated a Youthful Offender,
you need a Court Order to release the transcript -
submit form DC-75 with DC-411 ;

if your case was terminated in your favor and sealed (like
after an acquittal or dismissal), and you want
a Certified Transcript of Certificate of Disposition
mailed to you, you need to submit form
DC-412 with DC-411;

if the case was sealed after an acquittal or dismissed and sealed,
and you want to authorize someone to be your agent to
access the sealed records, you need to submit form
DC-413 with DC-411 .

Within 30 days from the date of sentence, you or your attorney must
file 2 copies of a Notice
of Appeal with
the Appeals Clerk, Suffolk County District Court, 400
Carleton Avenue, Central Islip NY 11722; and you must
serve one copy of the Notice
of Appeal on the Suffolk
County District Attorney's Office, Appeals Bureau, Cromarty Criminal Court Complex,
200 Center Drive, Riverhead, NY 11901.

If you appeared before the court pro
se (without an attorney, self-represented, or on
your own behalf), and you timely indicate
in writing to the Clerk of the Court (see the bottom of the form
DC-16)
a desire to
appeal, the Clerk will prepare and serve and file an
appropriate notice on your behalf.

You have the right, upon proof
of your financial inability to retain counsel and to pay
the costs and expenses of the appeal, to apply to the Appellate Term of
the Supreme Court,
for the assignment of counsel, for leave to prosecute
the appeal as a poor person, and to dispense with printing
costs.

(A verbatim transcript is a printed version of everything said at a court proceeding. A clerk's transcript of judgment is a court form, usually filed with the county clerk to collect money from a person).

When requesting a verbatim transcript, you should have the

name of the case,

case number,

location of the proceeding, and

date of the proceeding,

and time stamp or meter reading of the proceeding (if a digital recording machine was used).

Most court proceedings are recorded either by a Court Reporter sitting in the courtroom writing down what is said in the courtroom or by a digital recording machine.

To have a transcript produced of a District Court proceeding which was recorded by a Court Reporter:

These services are not employees of the Unified Court System, they are independent contractors and establish their own rates - price per page varies. They will either take the required information and contact the Court, or ask you to contact the court and arrange to have the recording sent to the contractor.

If you have any questions regarding a verbatim transcript from a Suffolk County District Court matter, please contact: Ron Gorman, Supervising Court Reporter, (631) 853-5418.

A certificate of relief from civil disabilities relieves an "eligible offender" of forfeitures, disabilities, or bars to employment automatically imposed be law by reason of a conviction of a specified crime or offense.

Attorneys may schedule video conferences the same day with as little as 30 minutes notice, or for a future date, at half hour intervals from 8:30 AM until 3:30 PM, from Cohalan Court Complex in Central Islip or the Cromarty Court Complex in Riverhead.

Defendants in Riverhead Jail can be brought to the video conference booth in as little as 30 minutes. A conference with a defendant in the Yaphank facility requires 24 hour notice.

Yes, unless the Judge has sealed the courtroom, the public may observe any criminal proceeding in any District Court courtroom. If you are interested in a jury trial, check with the central jury room on the 2nd floor, District Court building, and ask one of the staff if there is a jury trial scheduled. If you want to observe arraignments of defendants that are in police custody, go to courtroom D11 on the first (ground) floor.

When you enter a courtroom, try to get the attention of the Court Clerk or a Court Officer and explain that you are observing for a class project.